Will Johnston

Senior Associate

Will Johnston is an Associate at Renewable Power Capital Ltd with responsibility for assisting in the origination, acquisition and asset management of renewable power projects across Europe. Prior to joining RPC, Will spent almost 4 years with Macquarie Capital in the Green Investment Group (GIG), starting as a summer intern and being promoted through Analyst to Associate. During this time he contributed to a diverse range of transactions spanning onshore and offshore wind, solar and waste-to-energy projects, including a number of high-profile acquisitions and syndications in the UK, Sweden, Poland, Ireland and Germany on assets totalling almost 5GW.

He holds a Masters in Management degree from London Business School (class of 2016) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the University of St Andrews (class of 2015). Will is also a former elite level triathlete who represented Great Britain at junior level.


What’s your role at RPC?

I’m an Associate on the investment team at RPC, which means my primary responsibility is executing transactions to build RPC’s portfolio of renewable energy projects. While the company is in its growth phase I am also taking on asset management roles to push forward and optimise the assets and platforms that we have already acquired. 

What’s a typical working day for you?

It is rare to have two days the same, but an average day might involve meetings with developers or asset owners to discuss commercial aspects of a potential transaction, along with financial modelling and analysis to evaluate the viability of the opportunity.

I am often spending time drafting approval memos for transactions that are in progress, as we escalate projects through RPC and CPPIB approval levels as required, to bring the investment committees up to speed on latest developments and investment prospects. 

We interact with counterparties from all aspects connected with renewable projects, from engineering firms involved in the construction, financial institutions interested in lending to our projects, to large corporates who would like to buy the green power generated by our assets – the diversity of interactions keeps our days varied and interesting. 

What have you found during your time at RPC?

We have a refreshing approach in the market in that we are able to take measured risk in the merchant market based on the expert knowledge of our team. We have strong support from our sponsor CPPIB that enables us to find creative solutions to optimise our investments. 

What’s your proudest career moment?

Reaching financial close on our recent Swedish onshore wind investment within just 2 months of submitting our initial non-binding offer. The process was extremely fast and we did not sacrifice any of our usual due diligence and analysis while we worked efficiently to deliver a great result for our team and our partner. 

What do you do in your spare time?

Spending quality time with loved ones and friends as much as possible. We try to get some mileage out of our pasta machine and try new recipes whenever we can – although it’s necessary to balance this out with trying to maintain some basic fitness at the same time!

Where’s your favourite place in Europe?

Isle of Harris in Scotland. Stunning scenery, white sand beaches and turquoise waters you wouldn’t expect to find in the UK. They also make some excellent whisky on the island. If we can build an onshore wind farm there (to take advantage of those Atlantic winds) I would be the first to do a site visit!

What’s your favourite clean technology and why?

Battery Storage. It’s not a generating asset class but it will have an essential role to play in the transition to primarily renewable generation.